Solar powered home-is it a viable option?

[justinford10jf]

I have a question about solar.I can understand that on a sunny day we can use it.But does it work on a cloudy day and night time? The website guys talked about using battery system or grid. The Website gave me quite a good info about Solar manufacturers, price comparisons, leasing , tax credits and other solar info.Is it advisable to put my home on solar power???

[myocardia]

Hi Justin, welcome to Nature2Energy. No, you won't get any energy from the sun whatsoever at night, and close to none when it's extremely cloudy. On lightly cloudy days, you'll still get a considerable amount, just not nearly as much as you'll get on perfectly clear days. Usually, lightly cloudy days net you 25%-50% of a clear day.

Using batteries, what we call being 'offgrid' costs around twice as much per watt as still being attached to the grid, what we call being 'grid-tied'. See, batteries are expensive, have to be replaced after awhile (how long depends on how they are treated, and the type of battery you bought), and isn't as efficient as grid-tied. Grid-tied is definitely the way to go, if possible.

As far as your question about whether it's advisable to install solar panels at your home, that's a question that only you and your bank account can answer. Using photovoltaic panels is expensive now, and always will be more expensive than using billion year old stored, compressed solar power (coal, oil, natural gas) will be. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Robert

[Nicolas_Thomas]

On cloudy days solar panels will still do their job but not at full intensity as they would on bright, sunny days. About half as much electricity can be produced on cloudy days but if you are only trying to run one appliance (for example, your hot water heater), this is probably adequate voltage. On a very dark, gloomy day the solar cells may produce only about five to ten percent of the power they would normally create. During those days it is possible to use power that was stored in batteries on brighter days if there is extra voltage that was not used by the home.

[cherylk]

Originally Posted by justinford10jf

I have a question about solar.I can understand that on a sunny day we can use it.But does it work on a cloudy day and night time? The website guys talked about using battery system or grid. The Website gave me quite a good info about Solar manufacturers, price comparisons, leasing , tax credits and other solar info.Is it advisable to put my home on solar power???

Probably yes if you can afford to spend more money as a Solar powered home would need a lot of investment.

Regards,
Cheryl

[Morris]

Originally Posted by myocardia

Hi Justin, welcome to Nature2Energy. No, you won't get any energy from the sun whatsoever at night, and close to none when it's extremely cloudy. On lightly cloudy days, you'll still get a considerable amount, just not nearly as much as you'll get on perfectly clear days. Usually, lightly cloudy days net you 25%-50% of a clear day.

Using batteries, what we call being 'offgrid' costs around twice as much per watt as still being attached to the grid, what we call being 'grid-tied'. See, batteries are expensive, have to be replaced after awhile (how long depends on how they are treated, and the type of battery you bought), and isn't as efficient as grid-tied. Grid-tied is definitely the way to go, if possible.

As far as your question about whether it's advisable to install solar panels at your home, that's a question that only you and your bank account can answer. Using photovoltaic panels is expensive now, and always will be more expensive than using billion year old stored, compressed solar power (coal, oil, natural gas) will be. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Robert

^He says it best but as far as practicality goes, that is your decision to make. I would recommend shopping around and getting different quotes from different companies. Some companies may even extend some financing options to lighten the upfront cost burden. Look into solar equipment leasing or PPA (Power purchase agreement) deals. Do a quick Google search for "Free solar quote" and see what numbers you get. I personally used Global Solar Center (Solar Panels - Clean Energy Solar Costs | Global Solar Center) and found them really helpful when I went solar. Good Luck